Four families are in the running to be immortalised in a bronze statue to be placed outside the new Library of Birmingham.

The remaining contenders in the Ikon Gallery’s Real Birmingham Family competition will be showcased in a new exhibition at the BBC’s Mailbox base, opening on August 5.

The display will be the climax of the three-year contest, with the winners being recreated in a bronze sculpture by Birmingham-born, Turner Prize-winning artist artist Gillian Wearing.

No limits were placed on how the 21st century family might define itself, and nominations received included foster families, a group of friends and a single person.

The four families include a blend of races and step-parents, a single mum and even two sets of neighbours.

The shortlist of four was arrived at by a diverse panel of community, cultural and religious figures, including former Aston Villa footballer Ian Taylor, Birmingham Post editor Stacey Barnfield and Brian Gambles, chief executive of the new Library of Birmingham.

The final sculpture, created in bronze, will be positioned in Centenary Square, outside the library, next year.

A fundraising campaign to raise the £100,000 needed has just been launched.

Wearing said: “The project draws attention to the unsung and everyday, raising questions about civic identity and what constitutes a family today.”

The free exhibition runs until September 8 at the BBC Public Space in the Mailbox and the winning family will be revealed before the display ends.

It will be open from 9.30am to 5.30pm from Mondays to Saturdays and from 11am to 5pm on Sundays.